The Comfort of a Brother
by Jezabel Raewin
Summary: Just a couple drabbles from a couple different Percy Jackson Fanficitons.  : Rated T for a bit of language.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This oneshot happens during chapter 11 of The Future in the Past: The Last Olympian. If you haven't read that, I strongly recommend you go read that first, or most of this won't make sense at _all._ **

**I made this for a challenge proposed by the author _Starlight Silvernight._**

**Let me know what you thought of it. :)**

**Oh and by the way: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

**~Jezebel Raewin**

* * *

><p><strong>The Comfort of a Brother<strong>

Hermes averted anyone and everyone's eyes as he left the reading room. He didn't want to hear anything, he wanted to be alone. His body was on autopilot as he walked, while his mind was thinking a thousand things a minute. Right now, his poor may was sitting at home waiting for Luke, who would _never_ return. Well apparently, he _would_ return, sometime in the future, only to be able to bathe in the Styx. Right now, Luke was safely at Camp Half-Blood, strengthening his skills. Luke was, no _is_, Hermes pride and joy. No matter what he would do in the future. No matter what his precious May had learned.

Hermes went about his daily business like this, thinking the same thoughts over an over again. He tried not to dwell on some things, but the stronger he tried the harder it was not to. Eventually, after seeing to everyone's shipment needs, Hermes found himself under a tree in one of Olympus' beautiful parks. He sat there, feeling utterly alone. Not sure what to do now. He needed to know how it was all going to turn out; he needed reassurance.

Just then, a golden light appeared and grew brighter and brighter. The warming air around Hermes told him that Apollo was coming to see him. He watched as his brother slowly formed.

"Hey, Hermes," Apollo said with a smile. Hermes just looked off in the distance. "Hey, man, can we talk? Let's go back to your place for a bit. Come on." Apollo grabbed Hermes arm and pulled him off his feet. Hermes let his brother lead him while he tried to think of what to say.

"Look, Herm," Apollo said, once they were in Hermes' room with the door closed. "We've got to get you out of this funk. I have a few questions for you, but I want to know whats wrong."

Hermes took a deep breath, then let it out.

"Do you _really_ want to know whats wrong?" He asked. Apollo nodded. "It's not a happy story..."

"Who needs happy right now? Besides, the story isn't over . . ."

"Until the Oracle sings." They finished together. Apollo smiled and Hermes chuckled weakly.

"Alright, so here goes. You know how your Oracle never changes bodies anymore?" Apollo nodded. "Well, May wanted to try. She wanted to help." His voice was full of pain and sadness. "She didn't take my warnings seriously. She could see through the Mist really well." Hermes blocked everything out except the memory.

"So, I brought her to camp. And at first it seemed to go okay, but then, something went wrong. Horribly wrong and she's been insane ever since. She has episodes where she'll see Luke's fate. A horrible fate. I couldn't do anything, damnitt, Apollo! I couldn't do a _thing! _Do you know how hard that is? Watching your son grow up with this woman you love who's gone insane? And not being able to do a damn _thing!_"

Apollo just sat there, taking all this in. Hermes dissolved into sobs - heart wrenching sobs. After an entire minute of this, Hermes felt Apollo wrap him in a hug. They stayed like that for a while. Apollo murmured soft words to his brother while he let it out. Apollo tried to think of that happening to someone he loved dearly.

"Hermes," Apollo said quietly once Hermes had stopped his sobbing. Just when Hermes thought he'd cried himself dry, he could still feel the traitorous tears leaking out silently down his cheeks. He barely heard Apollo, but some of the words made it through his bubble. "Hermes, I don't think I could or _will_ ever understand what this feels like. But, man, just know that I am always, _always_ here for you. I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner. Why didn't you?"

"I-I just," Hermes took a shaky breath. "I just didn't want anyone to know. It was my fault." He said, the steady stream of tears coming out a little stronger now. "I should never, _never_ have let this happen. And then, when I saw Luke at his house, I lashed out. I-I, I-I c-couldn't believe that s-stupid prophecy."

Hermes looked at his brother and best friend. "What prophecy?" Apollo cocked his head, making him look like a comical puppy. Hermes tried to smile, but even inside it didn't work.

"I'm sure it'll come up again in the blasted book," Hermes said glumly.

"Brother, I want to hear it from_ you_."

"I don't want to go into the details. But it told me how my favorite son is to die. It told me he would be against the gods."

"We can still stop this, Hermes. We won't let it get that bad." Hermes let out a harsh laugh.

"I'm afraid I've already made it worse."

"You still love him don't you?"

"Of course! He's still my son. I love all of my children." _Especially Luke._ Hermes added as an afterthought.

"Then there's still hope. I don't know about you, but I want to keep uncle P from having a hernia. There's any number of ways to make sure things like this don't happen. We can talk to Percy and Annabeth, get as much information as we can to find out what really happened to Luke. We can talk to Athena for help on formulating a plan! We will _NOT_ let this go." Apollo ended with his fist in the air.

Hermes looked at his brother, he tried to smile again, this time he felt his mouth barely respond. He managed a grimace.

"Are you sure it will work?"

"A hundred and ten percent."

"Then I guess that's all we can do for now," Hermes sighed and leaned into his brother for support. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Apollo."

"Hermes without me.

Not a pretty thing to see.

He needs me too much."

Hermes managed a laugh and Apollo smiled brightly. Hermes knew he would be forever grateful for the comfort of his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back with more! I was given the task of writing a prank and a reaction by the author of a story I beta. (You should go check it out - Bookreader10's the gods read the lightning thief and the gods read sea of monsters.) And this is the result. I recommend reading the stories first...but if you're lazy - like me - then heres a bit of back story:**

**Some of the demigods (Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, Nico, Travis, and Connor) are sent back in time to read about Percy's adventures. **

**During a day of bonding with their parents, Travis and Connor, Hermes, and Apollo managed to pull a trick on Artemis. This is where Artemis realizes what they've done.**

**Enjoy!**

Artemis POV:

I sat in the throne room for a bit longer just talking with Hermes for a little bit. Before long I grew bored and bid everyone left a goodnight. As I walked down the hall, I held a star in my hand and sent a message to my hunters.

"...and my dear Zoe, don't let any of my new hunters feed the wolves until I return; they aren't used to them yet. . . " I trailed off. "Await my orders, I will be in touch shortly." The star flew down the hallway and out of sight. I'd finally reached my resting quarters. What caught my attention right away when I got to it was a not written in gold directly on the door:

_Your brother, you love,_

_You simply show it strangely._

_Look within, you'll find..._

I rolled my eyes. Only Apollo could come up with something like that, what worried me was the symbol of Hermes. Apollo alone was bad enough, but the two of them working together? Talk about trouble.

I tried to open the door slowly, but 'slowly' wouldn't let it budge. _Uh-oh._ I tried a little more force. I managed to get it open about an inch. After a third attempt the door swung open and I was immediately showered by gold dust. "Aaah!" I screamed.

I stepped further into my room to get away from the incessant golden rain. Unfortunately, stepping _farther_ into my room caused me to run right into a trip wire – which served it's purpose... yes, it tripped me... - and to fall forward onto my hands on the floor. I used the momentum to swing my legs above me and over my head back down to the floor.

I stood and surveyed the catastrophic war zone that was my room. Apollo and Hermes had managed to cover everything – and I mean _everything_, from floor, to ceiling, etc. - in gold and blue, the majority being gold. It covered my silver – well _used_ to be silver – bow and quiver. My ceiling no longer had visible constellations on it either. They had covered my stars with little suns, and around the suns, like little blue rays were miniature caducei.

"They will not last through the night," I muttered darkly, trying to find my way through the blinding glare of gold. Finally, I gave up and turned out the lights, closed my eyes, and gathered a few stars. When I opened my eyes, there were still suns on my walls and ceiling, but not _nearly_ as many.

I gazed at my hands and arms. They were still covered in gold. I shook my head in disgust and dismay and gold flecks fell from my hair as well.

I grabbed a change of clothes (I had locked them in a drawer that _only_ I could open – I had it made by Hephaestus), and my bow and arrow, and my hunting belt. I took off down the hall.

I tried to think of who to go to first, who would be most likely to help me out. I figured I could go with Athena and Poseidon. As much as they hate each other, they both love me. I made my way toward Athena's library first, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible.

-Third Person-

_*knock knock knock*_

Athena stopped feeding her beloved owl and walked to the door. She opened it and gasped.

"_Artemis?_" Athena asked, a hand covering her mouth. The slender young maiden was covered head to toe in gold powder, sparkling like Apollo's chariot.

Artemis looked up at Athena with an evil grin. "I need to ask you a bit of a favor," She said. "May I come in?"

"Of course! Come in," Athena said, ushering her through the main library part and into her bedroom. She looked over Artemis once again and shook her head. "Let me guess: Apollo did this?" Artemis' silver eyes glinted harshly telling Athena she was dead on. "I'll give you a minute to change, come out when you're dressed; I want to know what happened."

Not too long after Athena settled herself into one of the chairs at her desk to study her war figurines, Artemis came walking up. She looked as if she were only a thirteen year-old, yet she was dressed in a silver and white flowing dress like they used to wear. It had a flowing partial sleeve that was open on the inside and connected to her bracelets on each arm. She had her hair pulled back into an open ponytail that let her long hair – still specked with gold – spill from the back of her head like a gracefull waterfall.

"Come, sit down and let's see what we can do about Apollo's latest trick," Athena said.

"Okay," Artemis said. "Well it wasn't _just_ Apollo this time."

"Hermes joined in as well? And if Hermes joined in, his sons were in on it too." Athena's eyes widened. "This can't have been good."

Artemis shook her head with a wicked smile. "And they left their mark too. Over _everything_." Athena waved her on. "I was sending a message to Zoe, my current chief lieutenant, when I got to my room. The door had an Apollo original poem written in gold on the door. It wouldn't open without using a lot of force and when it did open it dumped a flood of some gold glitter mixture all over me! _My __**entire**_ room was gold with blue streaks.

"You know my ceiling? It has stars on it, the kind you could only see before the stupid mortals polluted the skies. Each and every star's light was covered by a sun spot with little blue caducei sprouting out of them."

Athena listened as Artemis spilled out her story and continued to go over the details of what the boys had done. When she had finished, she looked at Athena and said, "This is why I need you: I need a plan to get back at them, and seeing as how they keep annoying you as well, I thought we could pull a little group of our own together and go after them."

Athena smiled. _Seeing Hermes and Apollo have a taste of their own medicine might not be too bad,_ she thought. "Sure. I'll help." Artemis smiled brightly. "Who else were you thinking of having help out with this little...scheme?"

Artemis smiled a cruel smile and said one word: "Poseidon."

-Artemis Pov-

Getting Athena was simple enough. Now to get my favorite uncle to work with Athena might be a little more challenging, but he likes me enough that he should be able to get over it.

I decided to go for the innocent-little-girl-who-was-tricked-by-her-brothers game, so I ruffled my hair and put on my hurt expression.

I ran up to his temple; he didn't have a room since he has a palace in the sea. He was talking with Amphitrite, via Iris Messaging. He looked at me and I heard him mutter 'I love you' to her and saw him turn away as the mist evaporated.

"Artemis! What's wrong?"

"I need you're help, Uncle Poseidon!" I said, "Hermes and Apollo pulled a trick on me."

He smiled. "Again?" he muttered to himself. "What did they do this time?"

I told him what they did and showed him the gold sparkles still stuck in my hair and still making some of my skin sparkle gold. He laughed at first but I silenced him with one of my cold looks.

"I'm sorry, Artemis," he said. "So why do you need my help?"

I told him my plan to get back at them. "...and I thought you might like to help because they keep making fun of Percy and I could really use some water tricks." I smiled up at him like I used to do when I was really young. He chuckled and rubbed my arm.

"Sure," he said. "Who else is going to help? Or is it just us?"

"Well, I figured we could get Percy involved, Thalia will help, seeing as she's my lieutenant now, and Annabeth, seeing as it wouldn't be fair for you're child to help and not Athena's."

"Why wouldn't it matter if Athena's daughter helps or not?"

"Because she's helping too, of course! Meet in my room in fifteen minutes with Perseus."

-Third Pov-

Artemis was seated on her bed, talking with Thalia, when she heard Athena knock on her door. "Come in!" she called.

Athena came in followed by Annabeth, Percy, and Poseidon.

They stared in wonder at Artemis room. Granted, most of it was still covered, but it was slowly recovering; Percy could see numerous constellations on the ceiling poking around the miniature suns. He could also see the stunning silver walls behind streaks of gold sparkle.

"Okay," Artemis said with a mischievous grin. "Thanks for coming!"

All of the demigods sat together on one side of the bed as the gods settled themselves around the other side.

"Um, you're welcome?" Percy said.

Annabeth smacked his head. "Our pleasure, my Lady," she said politely.

"What are we doing again?" Percy asked.

"We're going to prank Hermes and Apollo," Thalia said.

"So here's the plan," Artemis said, glancing toward Athena who nodded. "Poseidon, you're going to start out distracting Hermes and Apollo. We need to get them down to the amphitheater. Okay?" Poseidon nodded. "How you get them there, is up to you, but don't do anything to obvious, we want them to remain in the dark."

"Isn't that going to be hard for the god of the sun?" Percy asked curiously. Thalia and Annabeth chuckled along with Poseidon, but they stifled their giggles as Athena spoke up.

The planning continued for another thirty minutes before they broke apart agreeing to meet in the morning outside Poseidon's temple at 7 am.

"Where are you going to stay for the night, my Lady?" Thalia asked curiously.

"I need to visit my hunters for the night. I'll see you in the morning, dear Thalia." She said and with that, she bid Thalia a goodnight.

- 7:45 am -

Poseidon spotted Hermes sitting by one of the trees talking to Martha and George. Since the demigods arrived, Apollo and Hermes had decided to use their teenager forms. He walked up to Hermes with a small package in his hands, addressed to Annabeth.

"Hey, Uncle P!" Hermes said.

"Hello, Lord Poseidon," Martha said.

"Did you happen to bring any rats?" George asked.

"Hello, Martha, George," Poseidon said politely. "Hermes, I need this to go to Annabeth, she left this in the reading room...and I'm not sure where she is."

"Did you ask Percy?" Hermes asked curiously. "Seems to me they're always together."

That caught Poseidon off guard for a minute. Luckily, it didn't phase him. "I can't find Percy either, I think they're talking with Nico and the others or something."

"Whatever," Hermes said, standing up to receive the package. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Do you know where Apollo is? I have a question for him."

"Um, did you try his temple? He's always polishing his statue, but if he's not there, you could try down near the amphitheater."

"Thanks, Hermes," Poseidon said as Hermes form started to waver.

"One down, one to go," he muttered to himself and with a scent of sea breeze he went to find Apollo.

He was _indeed_ polishing one of his statues, like Hermes had said. Poseidon walked in the temple with a thoughtful look on.

"Hey, Uncle P." Apollo said, not looking away from the carefully molded golden lyre.

"Hey, Apollo. Did you not hear what happened?"

"Huh?" Apollo stopped, looking up at Poseidon.

"Yeah, I heard someone's playing you're guitar. It might just be Hermes' children, but I don't know. You might want to go check it out."

"Where is it?" Apollo asked, putting the cloth back in it's hiding block.

"I heard they were in the amphitheater, I'd better hurry, you never know what they could do to it."

Apollo was walking out the door before Poseidon finished speaking.

He chuckled to himself. _Plan Payback has been set in motion._

-Annabeth POV-

I waited patiently from my spot on the risers in the little...okay...maybe not so little amphitheater. My role was to greet the two, receive my 'package' – which was really a silver note from Artemis – and then to manage to get the two on stage before the crowd gets here. It really was a genius plan. Then again, my mom was the main conspirator so I'm not really surprised.

Once they get on stage, It's up to Percy and Thalia to handle it until Artemis gets here.

I scanned the area before returning to studying the different types of architecture and the angles of my surroundings.

"Delivery for a Miss Annabeth Chase," A voice sounded from behind me. I smiled as I turned to face him.

"Hello, Lord Hermes," I said, trying _not_ to think about how much Luke looks – looked – like him. "Thank you, who's it from?"

"Poseidon said you left it in the reading room," Hermes said scratching his head. "Have you seen my boys?"

"Yeah...I thought they were going to meet me here, but I haven't seen them yet," I said with a sigh.

"Oh, okay, mind if I hang around a bit? I heard there's going to be a show in a little bit," He said with slight interest.

"Oh, really? I didn't know, I was just admiring the architecture."

"You're so like your mother," he said not unkindly.

"I mean, I've seen it before, but this time I actually have time to appreciate it. The last time I saw it in this form, was right before the war..." _Right before Luke made his choice._ I trailed off before I could say too much. I saw Apollo enter the stands and look around.

Apollo jogged up the steps toward us. "Hermes, Annabeth," he said, greeting us, glancing around frantically.

"What's wrong, Lord Apollo?" I asked. "You seem frazzled."

"I heard someone had brought my guitar down here. Someone mentioned it might have been Travis and Connor...but I don't see them anywhere. Have you seen them, Annabeth?" He asked.

"No, but I thought they were going to join me down here. I'm sorry, Lord Hermes, but sometimes your sons are too out of control for me."

"That's okay, Annabeth," Hermes said.

"I _did_ however see someone go on stage not to long before Hermes got here. It looked like whoever it was was carrying something." I stood up. "Come on, I'll help you look for it."

Hermes and Apollo followed me. I had to bit my lip to keep from laughing. _For a sun god, he isn't very bright sometimes. _

We split up once we were back behind the curtain and I slipped on my Invisibility cap. I walked over to where Percy and Thalia were standing waiting for the note.

"Here," I whispered, taking off my cap with one hand and handing them the note in the other. "I hope you're ready."

Thalia's eyes sparked and Percy's smile brightened my morning.

"I've got to go get people seated. Hurry, okay?" They nodded and laughed and I wished them luck.

_Stage 2 done._

-Thalia POV-

"Hey, Hermes!" I called trying to get his attention. "What are you looking for?"

"Oh, I'm trying to help Apollo look for his guitar. Annabeth..." he trailed off, looking around. "Well, she was here a minute ago...Annabeth said that she thought she saw someone come back here with it."

"Oh, well, I haven't seen anyone, and I've been back here for a while... Could you help me out a minute?"

"Oh, um, sure, I guess, what do you need help with?"

"It's this rope over here," I said tugging him toward the middle of the stage. "I'm so horrible with knots."

He smiled and said sure. I positioned him just right and then pointed to the rope. "It's that one." It was positioned in the middle of the curtain, near the stage floor. As he bent to pick it up I said, "I'll be right back, I need some water," and I walked back toward the curtain controller.

-Percy POV-

Annabeth walked away leaving Thalia and I alone. "Good luck," I whispered and we split up.

I found Apollo looking through all the props and decorations. "Whatch'ya doin, Lord Apollo?" I asked and he jumped about three feet in the air.

"Percy! You snuck up on me," He said, rubbing the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that," I said. "Can I help you find something?"

"I was looking for my guitar. Have you seen it? I heard it was brought down here, but it's supposed to be locked up in my room..."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but I haven't seen it. Say, since you're here, could you help me for a second?"

"Um, I guess so. What do you need help with, Perseus?"

"Please, just Percy, and it's over here." I led him onto the platform behind the screen. I looked toward the curtain controller's station and saw Thalia nod at me. "It's a little dark in here, I dropped my pen, and these pants don't have pockets. Can you brighten it up a bit for me?"

He smiled and the area around us started to grow bright as day. I walked around and dragged him with me.

"Okay, stand here...and I'm going to look right over here," I told him walking to the side opposite Thalia.

"If you say so, Percy." He said and started humming to himself.

I rounded the corner and started up the ladder to the catwalk. My next task was the silver rain and confetti.

-Third Pov-

The stands were starting to fill up and Annabeth's excitement level grew higher and higher. _This is going to be awesome._ She said. She watched as minor gods and even a few of the others filled the stands. _There's Travis and Connor and Nico. And Poseidon and Hades too; Zeus will be down before long I do believe._

Artemis had brought some of her hunters with her to help with her … plan. They were currently sitting among the crowd in carefully planned seats. Annabeth was glad she had decided not to join them; she simply loved Percy too much.

She caught her moms eye and new it was almost time. Just as Athena sat down, a bolt of lightning struck through the amphitheater, and the curtain wavered, getting everyone's attention. Then, all of a sudden, the curtain was gone, and Hermes was on the stage, staring blankly at everyone in the stands, I started to laugh. Then, Percy dropped the streamers and the confetti. Hermes blinked up at the silver streams raining down from above, and comprehension dawned on his face.

The stage was set up for a play, but I couldn't tell which one it was. It had a lake, and it was set at night with a full moon, so it was the _perfect _setting for a certain goddess of the moon to have her revenge. As the silver mist continued to rain the lake backdrop was pulled up to reveal Apollo shimmering gold being showered by silver sparkles.

It was so funny, I laughed even harder. Then Athena's owls dropped a banner they were carrying as they passed in front of the stage. At the same moment, 6 silver arrows shot through the air pinning the banner against the stage's pillars. On the banner, in silver paint was the following:

_Show my love, I try._

_Your ways are stranger than mine._

_Yet, I love you still._

_- A_

Artemis and her wolves came from the wings of the stage and they corralled Hermes and Apollo in a circle. They looked at Artemis and shrank away from her.

"I believe you have something to say," Artemis said to them and their expressions were so priceless, I wish I could have gotten it on camera.

Apollo straightened up and looked directly at her and said, "Artemis, I'm sorry."

She smiled and turned to face Hermes.

"I'm sorry, Artemis. I shouldn't have helped."

"I still thought it was awesome," said Apollo, now covered in silver. "Um, sis? Can you get this off of us now?"

Artemis laughed. "Of course _not_. That's going to stay on for quite some time. And don't even try to wash it off, Poseidon proved it was water proof."

Thalia and Percy stepped onto the platform.

"Show's over, folks! Thanks for coming out!" They said in unison and everyone clapped, laughing at the looks on the gods faces.

"Well done, my Lady," Thalia said, as Poseidon, the hunters and I joined them on stage.

"So have you learned your lesson?" Athena asked the brothers. Hermes nodded with a smile that clearly said no. Apollo just kept looking around.

"So, are you _sure_ you haven't seen my guitar?" He asked.

"It never left your room," Artemis said shaking her head. "_Honestly!_ If your mind get's much more empty, it'll be as dry as Percy is underwater!"

I laughed then placed my arms around Percy and Thalia's shoulders. "Well done, guys," I said, and we headed back up to the throne room.

**AN: So...what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Review and let me know!**

**Until next time,**

**~Jezi Raewin**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm back! Quick note about this chapter: I wrote it at the request of one of my friends (author) named FutureNovelist887 for her story 'Life As Their Kids.' I highly recommend you go read that, but incase you don't want to right yet I'll give you a little synopsis thing.**

**So Percy married Annabeth and they now have three kids (Hayley "Moon" Moonlight Jackson [16], Audrick Percival Jackson [12], and Chelsea Athene Jackson[10]). This takes place on the Fourth of July, the day of the infamous Camp-Halfblood Fireworks. Chelsea (who has a hard time finding where she really belongs) has found a friend in the son of Clarisse and Chris, Tommy Rodriguez. **

**This chapter is all about Tomsea. **

**I should probably mention that Moon can read minds... little fun fact about her. :)**

**I hope you thoroughly enjoy it!**

**Note: I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does. I don't own Tommy, Chelsea, or Moon. I do own Mark, Paulette, Lucy, and Clark. :P Anyway, enjoy this chapter from Life As Their Kids!**

Tommy POV:

I watched from across the dining pavilion as Chelsea made her way to her father at the Cabin 3 table. I couldn't stop thinking about her. About her eyes, about her face. "Dude," Mark called my name, kicking me under the table.

"W-what?" I said, shaking my head, coming back to my table.

"Your head was in the … should I say sea-foam?" Mark said with this evil glint in his eye. I was about to kick him back when Paulette put him in a choke hold.

"I think it's cute!" she said. "Little Tommy's got himself a girlfriend!"

"Shut up, guys!" I said, my cheeks getting warm. "She's not my girlfriend." _yet_, I added in my head. Then one of the younger girls perked up.

"Oh, my gods! What will dad think?" Lucy said with a gasp. "What with your little friend being the sun of Percy Jackson, and all? I mean, from what I heard didn't Percy pick a huge fight with him? And w-" she was cut off by Mark as he threw his hand over her mouth.

"SH!" He said sharply, "We don't say that. We can't say that. He'll cream us!" Oh, crap. I'd completely forgotten about that incident. . . What will Ares say when he finds out - rather, what will he say _if_ he finds out? When he finds out I'm in lo- no not quite love, but it's close. Very close. Paulette laughed again. I glared at her.

"You've got that goofy look again," she said smacking my arm. "Good luck, dude."

Chelsea wanted to fly with the Pegasi today, so she suggested I meet her over there. On my way to the stables, I saw this boar run deep into the forest. So what did I do? I followed it, that's what I did. I probably should've thought that through first, but I guess the Ares blood in me told me to go for it. I followed the boar through the woods until it disappeared into a burst of flames in this little clearing.

If you thought that was something, just wait, it get's better. At least, if by better you mean seeing your grandfather (who you know has a problem with your girlfriends father) leaning against a motorcycle with sunglasses that appear to be almost melting right on his face appear 5 feet from you, then yeah, it got better.

"Thomas!" He said gruffly, crossing his burly arms. "What are you doing?"

I stood my ground; children (or even grandchildren) of Ares weren't supposed to back away from bullies, or the like, but stand up for yourself.

"I'm on my way to the Pegasus stables. Surely you don't leave Olympus just to make sure your grandson doesn't get lost. I've been to camp before, Ares."

"Now, listen, you know what I'm talking about. I won't have anyone directly descended from me having anything to do with that Jackson punk and his family, I don't care if he is the Savior of Olympus or whatever. Jackson is a self-absorbed jerk, and his family's going to be the same. You understand?"

"No. No I don't," I said simply, starting to feel the anger bubbling up now. "Look, just because you lost a fight - what was it? 30 years ago? Why does that affect me? _How_ even? It's not my fault you were pig-headed. Dad was right, you do need to cool off sometimes."

"How dare you!" Ares bellowed, his voice booming through the trees.

"Another thing, Chelsea's not her dad. She didn't beat you herself, though, believe me when I say this: she definitely could, and she wouldn't have to do it alone. Grandfather or not, I'll take you on any day, any time when you challenge someone close to me."

"Hah! As if you could take me," Ares chortled, the air around him getting hotter as if the fire in his eyes (he'd taken off his sunglasses when at some point during my argument) was getting too wild to control. "A little runt like you? Your only a quarter bit of Hermes, punk, and only a quarter of me. What are _you_ going to do?"

"I'd love to show you sometime, but right now, there's a girl waiting for me," I said, starting to walk back toward the stables.

"Oh, so you think you can just walk away from an immortal, punk? From a _god? _You just don't get it do you?"

I looked at him, well, more like glared. "I don't know what your trying to do here," I said slowly. "But get out of here before we both do something stupid." This time I turned my back and walked away.

"You'll regret this, you little brat," Ares yelled after me. "You're going to wish you never said that."

_Maybe someday, but not today,_ I thought to myself. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I caught a glimpse of Mr. Jackson, jogging behind me, trying to catch up. "Tom! Wait up. you got a sec?"

"Please, Mr. Jackson, not right now," I practically begged, turning around to look at him. "I've already been yelled at once, isn't that enough for one day?"

Percy chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Not if you ask Annabeth," he said. "Look, I just wanted to let you know that I'm fine with you having … feelings … for my daughter. But trust me on this, you hurt her in anyway, shape or form, I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Trust me, Mr. Jackson," I said earnestly, "I would never do anything to hurt Chelsea. I just want her to be happy. And right now that means being with her at the stables so, please?" I gestured to the stables and he chuckled.

"Go on, Tommy," He said. "Just - take care of her, okay?"

I nodded and went on my way, thinking _how on earth could this day get any worse?_

I shouldn't have thought that. Next thing I knew, I was looking at Chelsea, smiling and laughing, but who was that with her? This…this, I bet he's a son of Apollo. The loser. He had brown hair, with gold eyes, and tan skin. He was on of the ones who leads the campfire sing-a-longs. I'd seen him around, a lot of the Aphrodite girls would fawn over him and how perfect he was. He was leaning against one of the stable doors patting a silvery-blue Pegasus.

I didn't know what to do. I'll admit it, I panicked. I had to steady myself before going inside. I thought she liked me, but maybe I was reading the signs wrong. Maybe she only wanted to be better at archery for this kid. _Oh, dad, what do I do?_ I cried out in my head. I walked into the stable and gave Chelsea a smile.

"Oh, hey, Tommy!" She said, giving me a hug. "I take it you've met Clark, right? Clark, this is Tommy, Tommy this is Clark. He's really funny. Tell him about that one time with the Cabin 9 kids, Clark!" She said with a giggle. I forced a smile.

"As much as I'd love to hear a good joke, I was really hoping you could give me some pointers on the Pegasi, Chelsea," I said, reaching toward the reigns of this black and gray spotted one.

"Well, for starters, you might want to watch where you put your fingers," She said reaching out to stop my hand as I almost poked my steed in the eye. "Grab the reigns here, right along it's cheek, and lead it out into the open. Here, watch me take Windsong out."

Watch her I did. Everything she did was beautiful. The way she held the reigns as she lead her Pegasus out of the stable. The way she talked to her. The way her hair glinted in the sunlight. "Yo, Tommy, you might want to grip your reigns a little tighter. Here, like this," the annoying son of Apollo said, as he showed me how to 'properly' grip the reigns.

"Sheesh dude, I'm just walking it out of the stable, not to the beach and back." I said, starting in the direction that Chelsea went.

"Hey! Be careful!" He shouted, then I heard him mutter under his breath, "This is gonna be good." He followed me out into the sunlight.

Chelsea had Windsong standing by the stable waiting patiently, to me it seemed as though the Pegasi would obey this girls every word, and she was only ten. She saw me tramping out and her face looked a little worried. "Hey, Tommy, calm down a little, your making Max anxious. Anxious Pegasi are not good to anyone." I tried to loosen up, I really did. I don't think it made much difference though.

"Here, let's get flying," She said, patting Max's saddle. I climbed onto his back and waited patiently (or so I'd thought) for Chelsea. But as Chelsea was almost on, I saw Clark hop onto a Brown and white Pegasus, and gallop around the stable, then take off. The thing that made me notice was that Chelsea was watching him.

"What you've got to do is start him at a trot and work him to a gallop. He'll spread his wings when he's ready to fly," She said, finally looking back at me at the end. "When Max spreads his wings, he'll want confirmation that your ready, so when your ready to hit the skies squeeze with your legs, okay?" I nodded.

I watched as she did what she said and then I was off. Max started at a gallop and went faster from there, he spread his wings really early too. I squeezed and the next thing I knew was that Max was in the sky and I was dumped on the ground, a few feet from a pile of manure. I heard a couple laughs coming from over head as I pulled myself off the ground. Chelsea greeted me with Max in tow.

"Max says you need to not squeeze so hard at the start," She said with a shy smile. I looked at her.

"Wait," I said. "What do you mean when you say '_Max says_?'"

She looked sheepish. "I mean, that Max want's you to be a little softer with your touch to start with. And he says you need to keep a tighter grip on the reigns. Other wise you _will_ end up in the manure."

"So you what? You're talking to Pegasi now?" I asked, getting a little annoyed.

"I didn't think it was that weird. My dad talks to Pegasi, fish, and naiads all the time," she said looking a little worried now. "I didn't know it would bother you…"

Truthfully, it wasn't bothering me. It was just the fact that she could do something so spectacular and I couldn't. What could I do? Fight? Not as well as my cabin mates. I wasn't a good thief or a runner. I was just me. She doesn't deserve me.

"It doesn't bother me," I finally said as I mounted Max again. "Let's try again." I nudge Max a little easier this time and lucky me he went slower. As he got up to speed he spread his wings and I squeezed with my legs. And just like last time, I was flung to the ground as he shot into the sky. I heard Clark's laugh coming from the air, and soon it was right behind me.

"Maybe Clark could show you a few tricks," Chelsea said quietly, as I stood up and brushed the dirt off me.

"No," I said, probably a little too quickly. "I can do this."

After five more attempts (which resulted in five more failures) I decided I'd just wait for Chelsea. I gladly watched from the ground as she swooped through the clouds and still came out dry. I guess it's just a Poseidon thing.

By the time she landed I knew what I had to do.

Chelsea POV:

I felt really bad for Tommy, but he wasn't accepting my advice from Max, and really, Max wasn't the right Pegasus for him. Clark took Wafer, and Wafer is the easiest Pegasus to ride. Well, they're all really easy to ride for me, but you know what I mean.

_Don't worry bout it, Princess, _Windsong said. _I don't think he was thinking straight. _I shrugged.

"Come on, Wind, let's get you taken care of, then I'll go see what's bothering him."

As I was finishing up the duties that every demigod must do who uses the stables, Tommy came walking up. "Hey, Chelse," he said with a shy smile. "Sorry I wasn't a good flier, I guess there's a reason I'm not over here that often…Can we go for a walk?" He asked quickly.

"Um, sure, I guess," I said a little worried by his tone, but he'll probably shake it off once we're away from the stables. I gestured for him to lead and he took my hand.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. We walked to the river (yes, that means through the woods) and turned to walk toward the beach. We talked about Camp Half-Blood. I wanted to learn more, dad said that I didn't need to come here to train, but I still wished I could, so every chance I get to learn more about this place I grab at it.

He told me about the times he'd failed the rockwall and the times he'd completed it. The times when he's seen the Oracle come out and give a prophecy for a quest. He'd never been on one, but has seen what can happen on one.

But then he stopped. He turned to look at me with this pleading look in his eyes. "I don't think I can do this, Chelsea," he said quietly.

I looked at him, confused. What was he talking about? "I don't understand, what are you talking about?"

"This!" He said, swinging our hands out as if it were obvious. "I can't do this! I'm not good enough for you…plus, we're only kids. You're only 10 and I'm 13. We can't do this right now, Chelsea. I've got to focus on training."

I stood there, completely brainless, and dumbstruck. I didn't know what to say. I, well I really liked him. Still do! What am I saying?

"If your having trouble, go ask Clark to help you out," he said stiffly and then he stalked away without another word.

I just stared after him, feeling as if I'd lost someone, someone so dearly special. I felt tears spring up in my eyes and I decided to make a run for the water, one of the places where I truly felt at home. I ran to the beach, tore off my over-shirt (yes, I have on a swimsuit. So what?) and dove into the surf. This couldn't be happening to me. Not here. Not now.

I stayed down there, crying my eyes out for I don't know how long. It seemed like eternity was too short when I was greeted by none other than Moon.

"What do you think your doing down here?" She asked softly. I looked up at her from where I was hugging my knees on the ocean floor. "Oh, is that why?" She asked as I sniffed.

"He-he left me," I said quickly. "He was my only friend." I said, breaking down again. _Just when I thought the waterworks were over_.

Hayley quickly enveloped me in a hug. Something I didn't see coming. But she sat there holding me while I cried even more. Then when I finally was able to turn off the faucet she turned me to look her in the eye. "I'm sure there's something at work here. Tell me everything he said."

So I told her everything that happened, and as I got to the end she shook her head. "Of _course_ he would say those things! He's jealous." She said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. We swam to the shore and I plopped down by a sand dune.

"What do you mean, _he's jealous_?" I asked incredulously.

"He's probably feeling inadequate and jealous. Think about it," she continued when I stared at her, uncomprehending. "When he walked into the stables, who was with you?"

"Clark, but-"

"And who laughed at him when he fell off?"

"Well, Clark and I, but-"

"Then what happened when you suggested him watch Clark?"

"He got upset…but-"

"But nothing! Don't you see? How blind are you? As for feeling inadequate, look at what you can do: Talk to Pegasi, breathe underwater, talk to fish, fly like crazy. The poor kid's probably feeling completely worthless next to that. I mean, he's a _kind_ descendent of _ARES._"

"But - he's not inadequate at all," I said. "I'm the one that doesn't deserve him, he's so sweet, and kind, and gentle…" I trailed off, feeling tears spring to my eyes again.

"You need to go talk to him," Moon said, standing up and brushing the sand off her shorts. "Go talk to him, then invite him to the fireworks."

"But-"

"_Enough_ with the 'buts'!" She said. "GO! Come on, I'll walk you to the cabin so you can wash up."

PercyPOV: _**(Oooh goody!)**_

It'd been a pretty quiet day after seeing Ares and Tommy in the woods. I'd told Annabeth all about it and later requested for Moon to be on the lookout for her sister once I'd seen Tommy walking to his cabin looking sulky.

"Whoa, Tommy, you okay?" I called out. Annabeth had warned me that kids'll do crazy things if their confronted and told that they have to do the opposite if their in love. Her being a daughter of Athena whose mother told her to stay away from me, I trusted her completely.

"Hey, Mr. Jackson," he said quietly, "Yeah, sure, I'm okay…I think," he said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. "I may be known as a seaweed brain, but I'll do my best to help you." That got a little smile out of him.

"I guess it couldn't, well, then again, you're not going to hurt me, right?" He asked, cringing.

I shrugged, "I'm not going to make any promises, but let's have it out." So he told me all about his day, and his run in with Clark and what happened on his walk with Chelsea. _I knew he would hurt her, she doesn't deserve him, _I couldn't help but think. What I said though was, "So what's your next step? You know she's just a friendly person, she just wants friends right now, can you simply be that for her right now? Can you be okay with her trying to be friends with others?"

He looked thoughtful for a minute. "I…I'm not sure what to do now Mr. Jackson. I think I do just need to be friends, but haven't I completely ruined that chance?"

"The worst thing you can do is give up," I told him. "Annabeth had a hard time choosing between me and this other guy, but in the end she chose me. I think one of the reasons why was because I never gave up on her."

He looked a little better after that. "But what now?"

"You're in luck, Tommy. Do you know what tonight is?"

His eyes lit up. "Of course! The Fireworks! Why didn't I think of that?" Then his face fell. "Will she go with me after what I did?"

I smirked. My paternal instincts were hoping she would say 'no.' She is my baby girl after all. But deep down, I knew the truth. "If she wants to keep you as a friend then she will. But my daughter's no fool, hurt her again, and you won't come out unscathed." His face brightened and he nodded sincerely.

"Yes, sir!" He said. We parted ways and he went to the showers. That's when I saw Moon.

She had that look in her eye like she'd just accomplished something spectacular.

"Why, yes I have indeed, father," She said running up to me and giving me a hug.

"I take it things went okay with Chels?" I asked.

"It didn't at first, but, after a bit," she shrugged, still smug. "What can I say? Aphrodite should thank me though, I'm helping her out. I wasn't sure about Chelark, but Tomsea? Definitely will work out, Aprhodite willing. "

I shivered when I thought of what Aphrodite was capable of. _Never underestimate the power of love_.

Moon smiled and shrugged. "You would know, right dad?" She said, leaving me to hang out with Ellie and the Stolls.

Chelsea POV: **(Is it just me or are there a lot of POV switches? *shrug* Hope you guys don't mind ~Jezi)**

I wiped my nose off for the millionth time today and looked at my face in the mirror. I couldn't believe I was about to do this. It was about half-an-hour before line up for dinner and I was going to swallow my nerve and go talk to Tommy.

As I left the Poseidon Cabin I saw Tommy waiting for me with a bouquet of blue and yellow flowers. "I'm sorry," we both said at the same time. Then I gestured for him to go first.

"I'm sorry," he said again, "I was put under a lot of pressure this morning from Ares, something about an old grudge between him and your dad, and I tried not to let that get to me, but then you were hanging out and having a lot of fun with Clark, and I thought, well, I thought that maybe you liked him more than me. So I got upset, and -" I silenced him by wrapping my arms around him.

"Tommy! It's okay," I said. "He really did have this great joke, and I don't really have many friends at home. It's just nice to hang out with demigods, I can be myself. I'm really sorry if I made you feel inadequate, you are perfect just the way you are." This time he just looked at me with a beaming smile on his face. We stepped back for a second and he held out his hand.

"Friends?" He asked, and I took his hand immediately.

"Always," I said.

"So, do you want to - um. . . What I'm trying to say is. . . Chelsea, will you go to the Fireworks with me?"

I grinned. "Definitely!" We hung out together until we had to separate for dinner.

I caught Moon's eye as she walked out of the Athena Cabin. _Thank's sis,_ I thought. She grinned and gave me a thumbs up.

**AN: Holy cow! **

**Wow, that was so long. But I couldn't make it any shorter if I tried. *sigh* Anyway, I hope you liked this! The Fireworks will be coming later (probably by Future, rather than me). I would've added them in this chapter but it's already got 3,816 words. 0.0 That's really long in my book. **

**Thank's for reading though!**

**~Jezebel Raewin**


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